Bad Experience with The Cichlids Place

[duckie673]

Was placing an order with Rene. Everything was going good until the day of shipping. He told me shipping charge was $80 through USPS which I paid in advance. Today he TEXTs me, no not CALL, TEXT and says that shipping charge was $260, and he decided to ship it BEFORE CONFIRMING IT WITH ME and wants me to pay the extra charge. Needless to say I wasn't going to pay another $180 for shipping, after agreeing on $80. Could have saved all of the hassle if he would have just given me the right cost for shipping in the beginning.

[armthehomeless]

Sounds like alot of fish ... did you get your fish yet?

[duckie673]

No. I told him I wasn't going to pay for the difference in the shipping, I told him I was going to leave bad feedback for him on this site, and he went and cancelled the shipping, and refunded my money. All the hassle could have been avoided.

[Andrew_B]

What did you order? 80 seems low, and 260 seems high for express. Obviously it was adult, WC fish if it came from rene so you really have to over-pack them

[thecichlidsplace]

For those that have bought items from me, you can testify to the way I do business. For the new guys, you'll have to take a chance and see how I treat my customers.

BTW, USPS was an exception that I made just for you to ship the item to Wausau, WI since southwest (the cheapest) doesnt fly to Wausau, WI. And you didnt want to drive to Milwaukee to pick the fish up.

After you said you didnt want the item I called the USPS and stopped the shipment. I issued you a full refund within 5mins of stopping the shipment. So please tell me exactly what the bad experience is?

[duckie673]

Yes I agree. I order tembwes. They are all big fish, but I'm just saying if the right price for shipping was given to me in the beginning I wouldn't have ordered in the first place. Yeah I told you that It wasn't going to work if your only shipping was to Milwaukee, You offered to ship them through USPS for 80. Here is our conversation on facebook:

• John Lor
  Yeah I figured, If shipping is only going to Milwaukee then I'm going to have to pass. To far of a drive for me(3 hrs each way), I don't have the time to pick them up. Unless we figure out a different shipping method, looks like we won't be able to make this work. Maybe once the weather warms I'll contact you again and use FedEx. Sorry for wasting your time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  9:40pm
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  delta, united and america airlines go to cwa. the problem is I dont have an account with them. talked to american airline rep and it will take 6week to register with them as a known shipper
  
  
  
  let me check with one of my friends to see whether they got an account with any of the airlines that goes to cwa
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  9:50pm
  
  
  
  John Lor
  Alright.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [*=center]March 26
• 
  7:30am
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  I called my friends and everyone uses southwest cargo freight because its much cheaper.
  I've registered with delta this morning to be a known shipper, now just have to wait
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  8:03am
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  I can use USPS overnite or next day guarantee shipment. You'll have to be home to receive the fish on the first attempt
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  8:06am
  
  
  
  John Lor
  With USPS do you offer live arrival guaranteed?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  8:14am
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  Here is the USPS info (Express Mail...approximately $40 per box)
  If I ship by noon, it will get there by noon the next day.
  For 12 Fronts, I will use 2 boxes, each box holding 6 fronts.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  8:27am
  
  
  
  John Lor
  We can use that, As long as you offer live arrival guaranteed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  8:50am
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  I take care of all DOA, but you must be there for the first attempt for me to cover any DOA
  
  
  
  I will add doa instructions to the packaging. If any doa, you'll get instant refund through paypal
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  8:56am
  
  
  
  John Lor
  Alright. I still have yet to go to the bank yet. I'll pay you as soon as I get to the bank to deposit some money.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  9:04am
  
  
  
  The Cichlids Place
  since we're using usps, you've topay for the shipment upfront as well. I'm estimating box boxes...$80 total
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The bad experience not giving right shipping cost and, shipping it at a higher rate than given and just expecting me to pay for the difference without even confirming it with me.

[Andrew_B]

That makes more sense. I don't see any bad from Rene, definitely if you're used to shipping/ordering fish online. Shipping prices change dramatically based on how you ship. USPS is most convenient, but pricey with big orders.

[SunnyHouTX]

Re: Bad Experience with The Cichlids Place

Duckie, this sounds like a big misunderstanding. If you take this as a bad experience, then I want to see your reaction when you get fish that are sick out of the bag, or about half the size that they were advertised at, or get the wrong ratio or flat out get the wrong fish. A misunderstanding on the cost of shipping is trivial in the big picture.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[duckie673]

Misunderstanding the shipping price I can live with that, but shipping them at $180 more and just expected me to agree or pay for that, before confirming it with me. Just bad business.

[Ogrodii]

Re: Bad Experience with The Cichlids Place

Just looks like a misunderstanding to
me.

[SunnyHouTX]

Re: Bad Experience with The Cichlids Place

Misunderstanding the shipping price I can live with that, but shipping them at $180 more and just expected me to agree or pay for that, before confirming it with me. Just bad business.

I'm sorry for your sake that it turned out that way. Just want to put it out there that Rene gave you the best possible fix given the situation. I know for a fact that most other importers are not that quick to refund your money if they agree to at all. I know that "store credit" is what's offered sometimes

As far as Rene's fish go, best quality I've seen shipped and he doesn't fudge the sizes like some importers I know of.

Again, I'm sorry about the outcome.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[duckie673]

Well put Sunny.

[Andrew_B]

Someone who ships (although it's not used much), should know that usps express costs about 50-70% more when you take it to the office instead of printing a label from home but on the other end, getting your money back quickly with no loss isn't worth ranting on a random forum page

[duckie673]

Random fourm page? hahah. Just so happens that the The Cichlids Place is a retailer on here? Not really sure what you mean random just because I just sign up recently or I'm not from Texas so I'm not allowed on here?

[Ogrodii]

Re: Bad Experience with The Cichlids Place

I pretty much see a rant to
all for nothing he did what he had to do didn't work out
and he refunded your money
promptly.